Fairystuck (Current)
by IllusionalFennec
Summary: What would happen if Natsu lost the fight against Gajeel in the Phantom Lord arc? What if Karkat had saved him at the very last minute? What chaos would ensue after that, between Fairy Tail and Alternian Beforus, containing all of the Homestuck characters? Rated T just in case - may have some cussing, but no swear words like f*ck or sh*t. HS chars' swearing will be reduced.
1. Enter Karkat Vantas

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to my "new" fanfiction, Fairystuck 2.0! I'm your host, IllusionalFennec, and today we'll be embarking on a quest that I totally have never gone on before, and then stopped in the middle of it!**

 ***waits for applause***

 **...None? Okay.**

 **Anyway, on a serious note, this is the new version of Fairystuck. Once upon a time, I had a crossover fanfic of Fairystuck. I loved writing it. A few people liked me writing it. And then I just… I don't know. Camp NaNoWriMo put me in a bit of a writer's block place.**

 **But here I am again! Fear not, for I will try my hardest to not let this version of Fairystuck die.**

 **And also I'm a bit crazier than before, in case you couldn't tell.**

 **So, without further ado (because I've already been rambling on enough as it is), let's move on to Chapter 1!**

 **This chapter is in Lucy's POV, and don't forget to review, and/or follow and/or favorite if you enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fairy Tail or Homestuck. Hiro Mashima and Andrew Hussie (respectively) own these franchises, and I only own the plot of this fanfic, and maybe new characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Enter Karkat Vantas**

 **-Lucy-**

Even a blind person would know that the fight between Natsu and Gajeel was going terribly. At least, for Natsu.

For Gajeel, it was just as clear that he was having as much fun as he had ever had in his entire life of an Iron Dragon Slayer.

And for Lucy, who wasn't even _in_ the fight… she couldn't even imagine taking so many blows, like the two Dragon Slayers were doing. She would have dropped dead a while ago.

She cringed. The Celestial Spirit mage couldn't watch this. She just _couldn't_. As much as she would have loved to see Gajeel presumably get beaten up, he wasn't. Natsu was more or less taking the beating, while Gajeel laughed his odd laugh.

Yet she couldn't tear her eyes away. She just kept watching. And watching. Even though it pained her.

As Gajeel and Natsu fired spell after spell at each other, so much that Lucy lost track-"Iron Dragon's Pillar! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist! Iron Dragon's Roar! Fire Dragon's Roar!"-she watched as both Dragon Slayers kept dodging the hits, retaliating with their own powerful attacks, each one trying to at least connect an attack to the other.

While Gajeel simply dodged or sidestepped out of the way, Natsu was barely avoiding in time. He was covered all over with cuts and bruises. Even if he got out of this alive, he would be in such a terrible shape that Lucy almost thought it didn't really matter which way.

Which she knew wasn't true. Because if Natsu lost, the entire Fairy Tail guild would be destroyed. Master was in no condition to help them, and Laxus and Mystogan, as far as Lucy knew, weren't confronting Phantom Lord, at least on the front lines.

If Gajeel lost, however, there was still the matter of Jose, who was a Ten Wizard Saint. He was on the same level as Master. Since Master was out for the count, there was no one who could handle Jose on their own. And even if they _did_ manage to beat Jose… what would they do then? Fairy Tail would get so many counts of property damage, far more than they had gotten previously. And what then? They would still get in trouble with the Magic Council.

Either way, Lucy had a feeling this was going to end up pretty bad.

She knew she was useless, but she kept telling herself, _I have to help somehow, I have to help somehow_.

She was just a coward to step forward and actually do the helping. Lucy was frozen, and even if she worked up the courage to come and help, she wouldn't be able to. In her heart, Lucy just couldn't bring herself into the carnage and havoc that was the battle of the two Dragon Slayers.

There was another side of her, telling her, _This is between them. These are two Dragon Slayers, and anyway, you have no right to bring yourself into this war._

But did she? Lucy's father had started all of this, by asking for his daughter back when he never had before. Lucy was partly the reason why this war had all started.

A tear threatened to fall from Lucy's eye. This was all because of her, wasn't it?

She forced herself to stay calm. She recounted what ideas she could do to help.

Idea one was use no magic, and step forward to block an attack from Gajeel that would have proved lethal or at least serious injury to Natsu. Which was basically her sacrificing herself. Which would most likely set Natsu's rage into action.

Lucy, though, was too selfish to risk her own life.

Idea two was also concerning no magic, but actually going to fight alongside Natsu, beating Gajeel with her bare hands.

Which she discounted almost immediately, because not only would Natsu be enraged that someone was fighting for him, but she herself also wasn't that strong to take on a Dragon Slayer. Lucy vetoed idea two.

Idea three was use her one and only way of magic on hand, Sagittarius. A few other members of Phantom Lord-Juvia and Sol, if she remembered correctly-had stolen her keys beforehand and now her only one left was Sagittarius. However, Lucy couldn't think of a way in which he would be useful.

It was then that Gajeel finally landed a direct hit on Natsu, which snapped Lucy out of her thoughts.

"Iron Dragon's… Pillar!" Gajeel shouted. His right arm morphing into a pillar, catching Natsu off guard, Gajeel rammed his arm into Natsu's stomach.

Lucy couldn't contain her cry. Natsu was flung back into the wall.

"Tch," Gajeel muttered. "So much for this all-powerful 'Salamander' rumors. I thought I was actually going to face someone powerful."

"You are!" Natsu said. "I'm just getting started here! Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel whipped around, seeing the fire heading straight for him. This time, it was the Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord who had been caught off guard. Gajeel couldn't dodge or block the attack, and it landed a direct hit on him.

Lucy ran out of the way to avoid getting hit by the spiral of fire.

When the smoke cleared, Gajeel was breathing heavily, lying on the ground. He at least looked wounded, but so did Natsu.

And the Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail looked a lot more beat up than Gajeel, even though the Iron Dragon Slayer had just taken the entire impact of a Fire Dragon's Roar.

"And I'm just getting started too," Gajeel said, wobbling on his feet as he stood up. "Iron Dragon's Scales!" Grey scales with a hint of blue in them covered his whole body, covering up his skin.

Gajeel smirked, laughing his odd laugh. Lucy had no time to puzzle over why, though, because then Gajeel spoke again. "Good luck getting past this!" he shouted. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" His right arm turned into an iron blade as he charged at Natsu.

Natsu, still attempting to recover, tried to dodge, but the sword caught him right on the arm. Even though he didn't show it, Lucy knew he was in pain. Nobody could take a hit like that and not hurt at all. It just wasn't possible.

The Fire Dragon Slayer fell back on his knees, and just as Gajeel was retracting his sword, Natsu still managed to get up. Although it took him a few attempts to do so.

"I'm not… going to give up…" Natsu murmured. "For the sake of Fairy Tail! Fire Dragon's…"

Gajeel replied with, "Iron Dragon's…"

 _You're kidding me,_ Lucy thought. She glanced down at the key of Sagittarius, gleaming. She was tempted, but then she stopped herself.

Natsu would be angry if she opened the gate of Sagittarius to help him, unless it was a completely dire situation and unless he got help, he would die. Besides, Natsu had a personal grudge against Gajeel. Not just for being a Dragon Slayer, but for destroying Fairy Tail's building, for hurting Fairy Tail's people. How would Natsu react if he didn't get to land the final blow on Gajeel?

He needed support, though. Not someone to fight alongside him. Support.

How to get it? Lucy warred with herself, trying to come up with ideas, until finally she gave up. She would just release Sagittarius when Natsu desperately needed help. There was no point in overthinking this.

But meanwhile, both of the Dragon Slayers' roars hurtled past each other and slammed into the other. Lucy winced, bracing for impact.

There were a few explosions. The Celestial Spirit mage closed her eyes, so she wouldn't get any smoke in her eyes. She opened one slowly once the smoke cleared.

Natsu had been slammed into the wall once more, but Gajeel was standing. And he didn't even look dented.

"How?" Lucy murmured. " _How_? How can he still be standing?"

She clutched the key that would open Sagittarius's gate. If Gajeel wasn't even hurt by a full Fire Dragon's Roar… then what would Sagittarius do? Maybe he could wear down the scales, because everything definitely had a durability, but the scales would probably break after a hundred and one arrows. And Lucy didn't have time for a hundred and one arrows. Neither did Natsu.

It must have been because of those scales, Lucy realized. Gajeel couldn't take a Fire Dragon's Roar before he had the scales. Maybe those…

Her thoughts were proven shortly after when Gajeel said, "These scales increase my defense. You can't damage me at all now. Not only that, but they also increase my attack power, like this… Iron Dragon's Club!"

His arm morphing into an iron blade with spikes on each end, Gajeel swung the club of iron into Natsu. He managed to slide away just in time. If he'd moved a second later… Lucy didn't bother to think about what might have happened to him. Because the club was stabbed into the ground, right where Natsu was lying just a couple seconds ago.

Gajeel smirked. "You're done for. Give up."

"No…" Natsu said, his voice going into a soft whisper. It slowly got louder as he spoke his next words. "I will _never_ give up! I will redeem Fairy Tail! I will fight to the death! You hurt Fairy Tail… you made the wrong choice!"

Gajeel laughed. "You're strong-willed. But that's all you are. You're not strong. You just end up in the headlines because you keep getting yourself into trouble. Those words are a perfect example. Will they be your last?"

Natsu didn't reply. Instead, he said, "Some fire on the right, some fire on the left…" He seemed to be struggling to say the spells now, to force the words out. "And together they make, Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He shot a giant fireball at Gajeel, but Gajeel merely sidestepped. The fireball spun off into oblivion, slamming into the wall and sputtering.

"I think everyone underestimated you," Gajeel said, looking back at the extinguished fireball. "I was almost looking forward to fighting a competent member from the trash. But I guess I shouldn't have had such high hopes, especially for the fairies. I'll look somewhere else."

 _Natsu's just talking in spells now, but Gajeel can still talk regularly_? Lucy thought. _Natsu… he's getting weaker._

She glanced back down at her Sagittarius key. Even if Lucy had wanted… she wouldn't be able to summon it.

 _I'm a coward,_ she thought. _Why am I in such a powerful guild like Fairy Tail?_

"Fire Dragon-" Natsu said, but Gajeel cut him off.

"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!" Gajeel cried. A lance of iron was fired straight at Natsu. Since Natsu was still in the middle of firing back with his own spell, he couldn't dodge. The lance was sent right into Natsu's face.

"Natsu!" Lucy managed to yell. She hadn't been able to move this entire time. Now she blamed all of this on herself. It was over. Natsu had lost.

If she had only been able to unfreeze herself for a moment, to call out Sagittarius in that time… she could have at least distracted Gajeel, make it so that Natsu could at least land one hit on him. But now that opportunity was gone. If she had done that, Natsu might have had a chance to win. Now, though…

 _And you call yourself a Celestial Spirit mage of Fairy Tail_? Lucy thought. _Yeah, fat chance. You just let one of your friends die._

Gajeel strode over to Natsu, his expression triumphant. "Nice try, Salamander. But you're so weak, I figured I might as well just finish you the old-fashioned way." As he said this, his scales vanished. "Besides, I shouldn't waste my magic power on an already finished foe, should I? Or my breath, for that matter. Better just get to it now. Nice knowing you, incompetent Dragon Slayer! Iron Dragon's Pillar!" He started to bring down the pillar on Natsu, but, saving Natsu just in time, a purple-and-green sickle buried itself into Gajeel's left shoulder.

"What?" Gajeel yelled in fury. He looked around the room. There seemed to be no one around wielding a sickle who could have done such a thing. But as there were so many explosions, there was now a hole in the wall. Through that hole jumped a person, most likely the sickle thrower.

Gajeel growled, a very animal-like sound. "How dare you-" But he interrupted himself with a cry of pain, the sickle just now registering to him. The Iron Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord fell onto the ground, unconscious.

The figure emerged from the shadows, and Lucy could finally see the person who had saved both Natsu and Lucy's life. The owner of the sickle. However, Lucy was more than stunned when she saw who it really was.

The figure was a boy, possibly around the same age as Natsu and Lucy-give or take a little younger. He had messy black hair, which was normal. But the rest of his features were not. He had grey skin and small nubby horns the color of candy corn growing out of his head, which was pretty inhuman in itself. Lucy thought she might find something normal in his clothes, but he was wearing a black shirt that had the symbol of Cancer on it in gray, with blue jeans, which at least was normal. Lucy couldn't really find a reason for all the abnormality, but the best she could do was guess that he was a Celestial Spirit wizard who possibly wanted the key for Cancer. Lucy vowed to try to avoid talking about Cancer in a sure upcoming conversation with this boy.

"Er, hello," Lucy said.

The boy seemed to only now just notice Lucy. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" he asked. Yes, he was shouting, for some odd reason. He walked over to Gajeel and removed the sickle. Gajeel groaned in his unconsciousness.

Startled by the sudden increase in volume, Lucy said, "I'm...uh...I'm Lucy. I'm from Fairy Tail. The guild."

"OH," the boy said. He was still shouting, which didn't make much sense to Lucy in the least bit. "WELL, I WAS JUST HERE TO TAKE CARE OF THIS PHANTOM DUDE. DIDN'T REALLY EXPECT YOU TO BE HERE, BUT WHATEVER." He nudged Gajeel's head with his foot, to indicate that he was talking about the Dragon Slayer. "ARE YOU AND YOUR…" He looked at Natsu, who had also been knocked unconscious. "...FRIEND OKAY?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "We're a bit bruised-or rather, he is-but I think he'll recover. His name's Natsu, by the way. And what's yours?"

"WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU?" the boy shouted.

"Why can't you?" Lucy asked. "I want to know is all!"

The boy sighed. "FINE," he said. "IT'S KARKAT."

"Karkat…?" Lucy said, implying for him to finish his name.

"REALLY?" Karkat groaned.

"Why-"

"FINE. KARKAT VANTAS. THAT'S MY NAME. GOODBYE, AND GOOD RIDDANCE." Karkat turned to the hole in the wall.

"Oh…" Lucy couldn't really find anything to say. "Strange… name you've got there." Suddenly, she noticed Karkat walking away. "Wait!"

She didn't know why she said it. Maybe she wanted to find out more about this Karkat person. Yes, that was it. He was so out of the ordinary that she just had to find out more.

Karkat turned, semi-reluctantly. "WHAT _NOW_?" he grumbled.

"Are you in a guild?" Lucy asked.

Karkat stopped, as if "guild" was a foreign term to him. After a moment, he said, "YEAH. WHAT'S YOUR BUSINESS ABOUT IT?"

"Which-" Lucy stopped herself when she realized. She recalled a guild she had read about before. "Wait. You're from Alternian Beforus, aren't you? Weren't you the guild that went missing months ago?"

Alternian Beforus had been one of the guilds that Lucy wanted to join, along with Fairy Tail and (sadly) Phantom Lord. But then she learned that Alternian Beforus was invite only, and on top of that, the odd guild had mysteriously vanished just before she joined Fairy Tail.

"OH, UH, SURE," Karkat said. "SO?"

Lucy didn't even know what she was thinking. She didn't give her words a second thought, didn't consider them, before she blurted out, "Can I come to your guild tomorrow?"

"WHY?"

"I think Alternian Beforus is really interesting," Lucy said. "I read a lot about it a while back. Can I please go? I won't be any trouble."

Karkat thought for a moment. "OH, FINE," he said. He muttered something, about Lucy being annoying, then said, "WHEN?"

"Maybe tomorrow at noon?" Lucy asked. "Can you come to Fairy Tail's new place? It's going to be built right where our old place is."

"OKAY," Karkat said. "I'LL TALK ABOUT IT WITH MY… GUILDMATES. THEN WE'LL SEE."

"Got it!" Lucy said. She nodded enthusiastically. This was her chance to visit Alternian Beforus, the guild that had been on her list before. Now she would be able to find out why they disappeared, and maybe even make some new friends there. Hopefully they wouldn't all be shouting, like Karkat.

Lucy decided that the boy had probably been through enough already, so tomorrow she would ask him about his appearance. Not today.

"GREAT," Karkat replied, jolting Lucy from her thoughts. "IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, GOOD FRICKING BYE. AND FOR THE LAST TIME, I MEAN IT."

Karkat didn't leave Lucy any time even to say goodbye back. Not that he probably meant for a _good_ bye to her. He probably wanted out.

He turned around, and jumped through the hole in the wall.

Lucy sighed as she watched Karkat go. What a day.

* * *

 **A/N: So, was it good? Bad? The dialogue won't be the same as it is in the anime, because I don't have** _ **that**_ **much time to copy and paste every single dialogue line from Fairy Tail (school is a thing, you know), but it'll be relatively similar, with more or less the same plot lines.**

 **Also, you may recognize a few dialogue lines from the old version of this fanfic. If you want to know why, I'm using the old version as a base, at least for these early chapters. I'll also try to update at least every other week, maybe every week. It depends on schoolwork and how busy I am those days and such.**

 **Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this new version in the review section! I accept constructive criticism, but no flames.**

 **Chapter 2: The Tour will hopefully be up soon! As always, more information about fanfic updates will be on my page if you want to check that out!**


	2. The Tour - PT 1

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2 of Fairystuck 2.0! My name is IllusionalFennec, and this chapter's name is The Tour (part 1).**

 **First of all, review replies:**

 **Mental-Internecine: It's nice that you feel that way about Fairystuck! Thanks for the comments.**

 **NepetaAndTerezi: Aw, thanks! I don't really think this fanfic is _that_ good...but thanks!**

 **I doubt I really need to say this again for my new version, but I will. Because...reasons.**

 **In this story, I will be expressing the trolls' quirks when they are speaking. For example, Karkat's will be in all caps (as you saw before), Kanaya's Would Be Like This, and Terezi's WOULD B3 L1K3 TH1S. Don't like that in stories? Well, sorry. If you're allergic to troll quirks or something, then I can provide a quirk-free version for you. But if you are allergic to troll quirks, I feel bad for you.**

 **The kids will talk normally, even though most of them talk in lowercase.**

 **This chapter is in Kanaya's POV, and don't forget to review, and/or follow and/or favorite if you enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fairy Tail or Homestuck. Hiro Mashima and Andrew Hussie (respectively) own these franchises, and I only own the plot of this fanfic, and maybe new characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Tour - PT. 1**

 **-Kanaya-**

How surprised was Kanaya when she heard Karkat's story?

Well, of course the young troll was surprised. Very surprised, in fact. Karkat wasn't usually the type of troll who would agree so quickly to a random girl he had just met. Maybe this universe was doing things to him.

Or maybe it was something else? Kanaya wasn't so sure, but she didn't provide much confidence on her second thought - that maybe Karkat actually felt something for the human girl. Last she checked, Karkat was attracted to Terezi.

Karkat entered the building for their guild, called Alternian Beforus. Upon arriving in Fiore, a few people had whispered that they might be "wizards". The rumor had flew across the country and as time passed more and more people said that the trolls and kids combined were wizards. They had been forced to set up two guilds - one for the humans, and one for the trolls. The trolls' was called Alternian Beforus, and the humans' was called Skaian Earth. They stayed in Fiore for six months, then Jade sent them back to their universe because there was unfinished business to attend to. Then they stayed in their universe for six months, but then some strange force zapped them back to Fiore right after that time period was up. This was their second time in this universe. And, unfortunately, their computers wouldn't work very well. There wasn't a connection in Fiore and Kanaya hadn't ever heard of anyone setting one up.

However, the second time around, the trolls and humans both grouped into Alternian Beforus, leaving Skaian Earth. They needed to stay together this time around. So when Karkat marched into Alternian Beforus, fourteen pairs of eyes (minus Gamzee, who was currently out, and what was what Kanaya preferred him to be) turned to look at him.

"OKAY, EVERYONE," Karkat said. "STOP TALKING, ALL OF YOU. LOOK HERE."

"3V3RYBODY'S 4LR34DY LOOK1NG 4T TH3 HUG3 RUCKUS YOU M4D3, K4RK4T," Terezi said. "NO N33D FOR FORM4L1T13S."

"WHO CARES?" Karkat replied. "ANYWAY, LISTEN UP. THERE'S SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT I HAVE TO TELL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU ABOUT. YES, EVEN THE IDIOTS. AND BY THE IDIOTS, I MEAN ALL OF YOU."

"You do know that means you're an idiot too, right?" Vriska said.

"AT LEAST I'M FACING THE FACTS!" Karkat responded. "YOU PEOPLE PRETEND THAT YOU AREN'T IDIOTS, BUT AT LEAST I CAN ADMIT-"

"Just get on with it, Karkat," Rose sighed.

"OKAY," Karkat said. "SO I WENT TO THE PHANTOM PLACE. AND THEN I 'SAVED' ONE GUY WHO WAS DEFEATED BY THE PHANTOM DUDE. THERE WAS THIS GIRL THERE, TOO. HER NAME WAS LUCY AND SHE WAS A HUMAN."

"Well, of course she's a human!" Vriska said. "I don't think any other people 8esides us on this earth aren't human!"

"WHATEVER," Karkat said. "THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT. THE POINT IS THAT SHE ASKED ME IF SHE COULD TOUR OUR, QUOTE UN-QUOTE, 'GUILD'."

No one had asked if they could tour the guild before. Kanaya wondered about this. Maybe they had gotten publicity since they had left? All they did before was maybe go on a few jobs, pretend to act like a real guild. They just… pretended to fit in. If there was a crisis, they would just go to save the people they thought were "good". That was all they had done before. Kanaya wondered why people were paying attention to them now.

"s0 y0u refused and made her mad," Sollux said. "isn't that what happened?"

"ACTUALLY, NO," Karkat yelled - though everything he said was yelling, so Kanaya thought the term was pretty standard.

Silence.

"What?" Jade asked, after a while. "You mean… you didn't say no?"

"WHAT DID YOU THINK I MEANT BY 'ACTUALLY, NO'?" Karkat grumbled.

Kanaya finally decided to speak. "Everybody… Well, Knowing You, Everybody Thought You Were Going To Refuse The Girl. I Think We Were All Surprised When You Said That You Didn't Refuse Her, But That You Did The Opposite. Would You Care To Elaborate?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'CARE TO ELABORATE'?" Karkat said.

"By That, I Mean If You Would Care To Tell Us Why," Kanaya said. "Or Maybe Its Something Super Duper Private-"

"YES, IT IS," Karkat said. "I MEAN, IT IS SOMETHING SUPER DUPER PRIVATE."

"If So, Then Maybe You Might Be Roma-"

"NO. FORGET THAT IDEA. I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW WHY I ANSWERED YES TO HER QUESTION. IT WAS A STUPID THOUGHT. I THINK MAYBE I WAS POSSESSED? I DON'T KNOW. DID VRISKA HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?"

"Uh, no!" Vriska defended. "I don't want anyone to come here as much as you do. I like my privacy."

"ANYWAY," Karkat said, clearly trying to change the subject. "I'D LIKE TO GO BACK IN TIME TO FIX IT, BUT THAT'S STRIDER'S JOB, NOT MINE. AND WE KNOW HOW GREAT OF A JOB HE DOES AT IT."

Karkat looked pointedly at Dave.

"SHE TOLD ME TO MEET AT FAIRY TAIL'S 'NEW PLACE' TOMORROW AT NOON. JUST FOR PROTECTION, THOUGH, I NEED SOMEONE TO COME WITH ME TO GO TO FAIRY TAIL."

"W3LL, WHY DONT YOU BR1NG M3?" Terezi said. "1-"

"YEAH, UM, NO." Karkat instantly shot down Terezi's offer. "FORGET THAT IDEA. WE NEED SOMEONE TRUSTWORTHY, AND, YOU KNOW, SANE. SOMEONE THAT PEOPLE CAN TALK TO NORMALLY AND TRUST. NO, VRISKA, THAT IS NOT YOUR CUE TO RAISE YOUR HAND."

"But Karkaaaaaaaat!" Vriska complained. "You know I can hold my own in 8attle if it ever comes to that. And I'm definitely trustworthy! I only made a couple 8ad choices earlier in life 8ecause… well… some people needed to learn lessons!"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP," Karkat said. "ANYWAY." He looked around the guild, surveying all of its members. Kanaya didn't say a word. She'd much rather avoid all of this.

"KANAYA, CAN'T YOU COME WITH ME?" Karkat asked. "YOU'RE THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE. AND I KNOW YOU'RE LIKE, A RAINBOW DRINKER AND ALL. BUT I STILL THINK YOU'D BE THE BEST OPTION."

Kanaya paused. She'd have to consider this. If she went with Karkat, and if the whole thing turned out to be a trap, what could she do? She couldn't go around bisecting people with her chainsaw, or use anything at hand, really. Maybe she could cut off a few body parts, but other than that-

Okay, Kanaya's thoughts were getting really gruesome. Just so she could avoid thinking about other, more painful things, she said, "Fine. Ill Go."

"GREAT, THANKS," Karkat said. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD'VE DONE IF YOU HADN'T GONE. WOULD I HAVE TO GO WITH LALONDE? I MEAN-"

"Are you criticizing me?" Rose asked. Her tone was level and she didn't sound too perturbed about the whole thing - but Rose was Rose.

"DEFINITELY NOT," Karkat answered. "REMEMBER, DIMWITS, THE LUCY HUMAN SAID TO MEET AT FAIRY TAIL AT NOON TOMORROW. SO KANAYA, PRACTICE WITH YOUR CHAINSAW OR SOMETHING. GREAT. BYE."

Karkat immediately walked out of the guild building, ignoring Nepeta's plea to at least sit down.

Kanaya looked around. "I Guess Ill Be Going Too," she said and followed Karkat out.

* * *

A construction site loomed ahead of her as Kanaya dove behind another bush, alongside Karkat.

"So Tell Me," Kanaya said. "Why Did You Agree to Lucys Request?"

"I TOLD YOU," Karkat said. "I DON'T FREAKING KNOW, OKAY? I JUST THOUGHT, MAYBE IT WOULD BE RUDE OF ME TO SAY NO. OR MAYBE BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING TO QUESTION ME ABOUT WHY I LOOKED SO WEIRD. SO I KIND OF DELAYED HER QUESTIONING, I GUESS."

"We All Know That You Never Accept Peoples Offers Or Requests, Under Any Circumstances," Kanaya said. "Youre Tough To Talk With, In That Way. But Ill Let It Go."

They traveled a little more, until Kanaya and Karkat finally arrived at the construction site itself. There was a Fairy Tail symbol emblazoned on a stack of logs, and Kanaya ducked behind another stack of logs. Karkat followed right behind her.

Kanaya saw a blue-haired girl with curls at the end of her hair peeking out from a stack of logs. Kanaya knew she was in no position to judge, having horns and grey skin, but what was with the hair colors of these people in Fiore?

The belltower clanged twelve times. "IT'S NOON," Karkat muttered. "I SWEAR, IF THIS IS A TRAP-"

"Hush," Kanaya said. "Just Wait A Few Minutes."

During those few minutes' wait, Kanaya studied the construction site. For one day of construction, it was already going pretty well. Logs had already been arranged in a formation resembling a building. Now the spaces were being filled in, the inside being constructed.

Kanaya saw four people chatting amiably while they were working. She presumed that these were Lucy and her friends. There was a blond-haired girl, a pink-haired boy, a black-haired boy, and a red-haired girl. A blue cat was flying around them, which Kanaya found odd. Then again, there was magic in this world. And she had found weirder things in hers.

She nudged Karkat. "Which one's Lucy?" she muttered.

"THE BLOND ONE," Karkat replied.

Kanaya studied Lucy. She had blond hair that stretched to the middle of her back and a little hair tie. She was dressed in a white shirt with blue lines and a blue skirt.

After a few minutes, Kanaya was almost ready to give up, when Lucy said something to her friends and strode over to the same stack of logs that Kanaya and Karkat were behind. The young troll didn't know how she knew. It might have been instinct, or a lucky guess, but Kanaya wasn't sure that it was either.

Lucy seemed somewhat surprised at Kanaya's presence. "Um, hi," she greeted. She looked at Kanaya. "Who are you?"

"Im Kanaya," Kanaya introduced. "Kanaya Maryam. Karkat Decided To Bring Me Here."

"Karkat probably already told you, but I'm Lucy," Lucy said. "It's nice to meet you!"

Kanaya nodded. "And The Same To You."

"SHOULDN'T WE GET GOING?" Karkat said.

Lucy and Kanaya both nodded. The former smiled.

"Let's go!" she said.

* * *

When they had gone halfway to Alternian Beforus, Lucy suddenly stopped. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys," she said.

"What Is It?" Kanaya asked, turning around. She was interested as to why Lucy had stopped. Was it something important? Most likely.

"My friends are coming, too," Lucy replied.

They were coming? Kanaya hadn't ever heard of this. But if Lucy's friends were also coming, that could prove to be troublesome. They didn't exactly look like the people Kanaya would trust to not go blabbing off. The pink-haired boy had seemed far too energetic, the black-haired boy hadn't had any shirt on, and while the red-haired girl seemed normal enough, she had been dressed in a construction worker outfit.

Kanaya glanced over at Karkat, and saw that he was panicking. He was cursing under his breath.

Clearly not aware of what bomb she had set off, Lucy continued. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier. I hope it's okay with you! They've been following me this whole time… I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before! It's okay with both of you, right?"

"NO, IT ISN'T!" Karkat shouted. Lucy winced. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME OR KANAYA SOONER? THERE'S SUCH A THING AS PERMISSION! I ONLY AGREED TO YOU COMING OVER, NOT ALL OF YOUR HOOLIGANS!"

"I'm sorry!" Lucy said. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I just completely forgot. And it wasn't like I was trying to stage it like this… so can we please continue?"

"CAN I TALK TO KANAYA ABOUT THIS FOR A BIT? PRIVATELY?" Karkat said. Lucy nodded.

"Yes, I understand. Sorry I didn't let you know sooner."

"GREAT. COME HERE, KANAYA. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS." Karkat walked away, and Kanaya followed.

"So What Do You Plan On Doing?" Kanaya said.

Karkat pulled out his computer. "WE NEED SOME IDEAS FROM EVERYBODY ELSE," he said. "UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY?"

"You Know Our Computers Dont Work Here," Kanaya said. "What Are You Thinking?"

"WHEN WE CAME HERE FOR OUR SECOND TIME, I TOLD SOLLUX TO SET UP A CONNECTION. IT'S ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR 'EMERGENCIES', BECAUSE APPARENTLY THERE'S A TIME LIMIT ON IT. ANYWAY. ANY IDEAS?"

"I Have One," Kanaya replied, albeit after a little pause. She had never heard of a connection from Sollux. The rest of the guild probably didn't, either. The Virgo troll wondered why, but brushed it aside.

"GREAT! SHARE IT."

"Id Like To Put It Aside As A Last Resort, Though," Kanaya finished.

Karkat groaned. "FINE, FINE. PULL OUT YOUR COMPUTER TOO. I'M GOING TO SET UP A MEMO."

Kanaya nodded. She pulled out her computer and logged on to Trollian, using the connection Sollux had programmed into each of their computers, apparently. Trollian ran a little slowly, but eventually Kanaya navigated her way around it and found the memo Karkat had created.

\- MEMO -

CURRENT carcinoGeneticist [CCG] opened memo on board TEAM ADORABLOODTHIRSTY.

CCG: ALRIGHT, TEAM.

CURRENT grimAuxiliatrix [CGA] responded to memo.

CGA: It Does Not Seem Like Anybody Else Is Here Karkat

CCG: WE'RE IN A BIT OF A CRISIS RIGHT NOW REGARDING THE LUCY HUMAN AND HER FRIENDS.

CGA: Karkat Did You Hear What I Said Or Are You Just Ignoring Everybody Right Now

CGA: I Said That Nobody Else Is Here But You And Me

CCG: OH, DON'T WORRY, THEY'LL START COMING. BY THE TRUCKLOAD, I BET.

CCG: ANYWAY.

CCG: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE LUCY HUMAN HERE. YOU KNOW, THE ONE I TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY. GET IT? GOOD FOR YOU! DON'T GET IT? WHY ARE YOU HERE?

CGA: Karkat Nobody Else Knows About The Connection But You Me And Sollux

CGA: You Do Understand This Right

CCG: OH, CRAP.

CCG: ONE SEC. I NEED TO TALK TO THAT BRAINLESS MORON ABOUT THAT.

\- Brief timeskip -

CCG: ALRIGHT, HE TOLD EVERYBODY.

CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA] responded to memo.

CTA: alright spill it KK, what's g0ing 0n here

CTA: i didn't seal my death sentence f0r n0thing

CTA: everyb0dy here hates me f0r n0t telling ab0ut the c0nnecti0n s00ner

CTA: what's the big deal

CCG: OKAY, THING IS, THE GIRL BROUGHT HER FRIENDS TOO AND WE NEED SOME WAY TO GET THEM AWAY.

CCG: KANAYA HAS AN IDEA, BUT SHE WANTS TO HEAR EVERYBODY'S IDEAS BEFORE SHE PUTS HERS IN ACTION. JUST TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY BETTER ONES.

CURRENT caligulasAquarium [CCA] responded to memo.

CCA: wwhy dont wwe just use force to drivve them awway

CCA: wwe all go to wwhere you are and fight them

CCA: wwe probably havve more people, wwe stand a chance

CCG: HOLY CRAP, NO WAY IN HELL.

CCG: FIRST OF ALL, WE'D BE DESERTING THE "GUILD".

CCG: AND SECOND OF ALL, THEY'RE REALLY DAMN POWERFUL. UNLESS YOU'RE REALLY THAT CONFIDENT IN YOUR BATTLE SKILLS, I SAY NO.

CCA: wwere good enough arent wwe

CCA: wwhy dont wwe take a stand

CURRENT cuttlefishCuller [CCC] responded to memo.

CCC: W)(y can't we just negotiate wit)( t)(em?

CCC: Or maybe we could just let t)(em go! It's not a big deal.

CCG: OH MY GOG, NO.

CURRENT gallowsCalibrator [CGC] responded to memo.

CGC: WHY DO 4LL OF YOU H4V3 TO 4RGU3 4BOUT 3V3RYTH1NG?

CCG: YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE TALKING. YOU ARGUE TOO.

CGC: NOT WH3N W3R3 SUPPOS3D TO B3 COLL4BOR4T1NG!

CGC: HON3STLY, 4LL OF YOUR 1D34S 4R3 T3RR1BL3

CGC: SO H3R3S MY PROPOSAL

CCG: OH, GREAT.

CGC: WHY DONT 4LL OF YOU M3RG3 YOUR 1D34S TOG3TH3R?

CCG: HOW WOULD THAT EVEN WORK? WOULD WE BE FIGHTING WITH THEM AND THEN TRYING TO NEGOTIATE WITH THEM? I MEAN, WE'RE PRETTY DISORIENTED, BUT NOT *THAT* DISORGANIZED.

CGC: 1T W4S 4 JOK3

CGC: 1 DONT R34LLY W4NT TO P4RT1C1P4T3 1N TH1S, OR W4ST3 MY BR41NPOW3R ON 1T

CGC: SO 1LL L34V3

CCG: NO, WAIT! WE MIGHT NEED YOU, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW TIMES ARE DESPERATE WHEN I SAY THAT.

CGC: TOO L4T3

CGC: YOU D1DNT R34LLY S33M L1K3 YOU W4NT3D M3 H3R3, 4ND 1 C3RT41NLY DONT W4NT TO B3 H3R3

CGC ceased responding to memo.

CGA: I Dont Really Think This Was Your Greatest Idea Ever Karkat

CGA: Honestly I Think We Should Just Talk About It Alone, Itd Be Easier Without All Of This Fighting And Chaos

CCG: YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE RIGHT.

CCG: CONGRATULATIONS, YOU JUST GAINED A COUPLE EXTRA BRAIN POINTS! YOU ARE NOW AT LEVEL 2 ON THE BRAIN LADDER!

CGA: Is That A Compliment Or An Insult

CGA: Well, Ill Take It As A Compliment Even Though Im Pretty Sure It Was Meant To Be The Opposite

CTA: if that's all y0u want t0 d0, i'm 0ut 0f here

CTA ceased responding to memo.

CCC: I'll t)(ink I'll be taking my leave too!

CCC: I don't reelly sea t)(e point of coming )(ere if you're just going to s)(oot down everybody's ideas, but o)( w)(ale!

CCC: S-EA YOU! 38)

CCC ceased responding to memo.

CCA: ill be leavving too

CCA: youll regret ignoring wwhat i said, but do wwhat you wwant

CCA ceased responding to memo.

CCG: OKAY, WHAT'S THIS GRAND IDEA YOU HAVE, KANAYA?

CGA: Im Thinking Of Challenging Lucy To A Duel

CGA: Of Course The Whole Idea Isnt As Basic As That, There Are A Lot Of Other Things Involved In The Process

CCG: LIKE WHAT?

CURRENT arachnidsGrip [CAG] responded to memo.

CGA: Speak Of The Devil

CAG: What do you mean?

CCG: DAMMIT, VRISKA, WHAT DO YOU WANT.

CCG: CAN'T YOU SEE THAT KANAYA AND I ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION HERE?

CCG: YOU DON'T NEED TO BE HERE.

CAG: My, my, Karkat.

CAG: Calm down! I just wanted to see what this was all a8out.

CAG: I guess it's just trash, as always.

CAG: So if you don't need me here as you say, even though I'm sure you're lying and just disguising the fact that you need and want my intellect here, I'll 8e skedaddling along!

CGA: Actually Vriska Wait

CAG: Hmmmmmmmm?

CGA: I Have Something To Ask Of You

CCG: DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR IDEA BEFORE?

CGA: Actually Yes It Does

CGA: Anyway Vriska Im Sure Youre Aware Of Whats Happening Right Now

CAG: Of course I am! That girl called Lucy is trying to 8ring her friends to our guild! Honestly, fussy little meddlers.

CGA: I Wonder If You Would Mind Controlling Them

CAG: You know I can't control humans, right?

CGA: Putting Them To Sleep, However You Do It

CAG: Okay, so when?

CGA: Just Do It When Karkat Signals You Via Trollian

CAG: Ugh, why him?

CAG: Anyway, it's a deal. See you l8ter! :::;)

CAG ceased responding to memo.

CCG: OKAY, SO WHAT'S YOUR IDEA?

CGA: As I Said Before I Will Be Dueling Lucy With My Chainsaw

CGA: If She Wins We Have To Let Her Party Tour The Guild

CGA: And If She Loses Only She Can Tour The Guild And She Has To Promise Not To Tell Anyone About What She Encountered At Our Guild

CCG: SO WHY DO YOU NEED VRISKA FOR IT?

CGA: I Cant Exactly Hurt Her With My Chainsaw Without Killing Her Or Fatally Wounding Her, And I Really Dont Need To Deal With Murders Right Now

CCG: OH.

CGA: Yes I Think You Understand Now

CCG: OKAY. WHAT SIGNAL ARE YOU SENDING TO ME DURING THE FIGHT? BECAUSE OTHERWISE I WON'T KNOW WHEN TO CONTACT VRISKA.

CGA: The Signal Will Be My Second Charge With The Chainsaw

CGA: Obviously I Wont Try To Hit Her, Just Maybe Her Weapon

CCG: GREAT. LET'S DO IT.

CCG closed memo.

\- END OF MEMO -

Both Kanaya and Karkat closed their computers. Kanaya hadn't known what it had been like to go on Trollian for an extensive period of time for a long time. It had been so long since she had gone on Trollian, much less interact in a memo.

Karkat looked over at her. "YOU'RE SURE ABOUT THIS?" he asked.

"Completely," Kanaya said aloud. Deep down, though, she was nervous. This might not work at all, especially if she ended up getting dominated by Lucy. The girl might potentially be a very strong fighter.

"THEN LET'S GET BACK TO LUCY," Karkat said. The two trolls walked back to where Lucy was waiting.

"You took a really long time," Lucy said. "So? What are you doing?"

"We Have Come To An Agreement," Kanaya replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Was this a good continuation of Chapter 1? I feel like this wasn't one of my best works, and that I copied too much off of the old version, but please let me know what _you_ think in the reviews! I accept constructive criticism, but flames will be returned with their own fire.**

 **Also, maybe we should clear up the time period and everything.**

 **This takes place DURING the Act 6 intermissions, but it's also somewhat of an alternate timeline, where the same events happened to both the trolls and the humans as in the alpha timeline, EXCEPT the trolls that would've died are alive. Except of course the god tiers, or Kanaya resurrecting as a vampire. So, for example, Feferi was knocked out and received major wounds from Eridan, and was close to death, but managed to survive. Stuff like that. Because I need all the trolls here, and I'd prefer for half of them not to be dead.**

 **If you enjoy the story, please follow and favorite, and again, leave your thoughts down in the reviews!**

 **Part 2 of this chapter (The Tour) should hopefully be up soon, maybe next week or the week after, and you can always check my page for story updates if you forget!**


	3. The Tour - PT 2

**A/N: Hello, everybody! I'm sorry it seemed like I was about to give up on this again for a while. There were a lot of things going on: NaNoWriMo, a lack of motivation to finish up this story, and ultimately giving up on watching all of Fairy Tail (I always get stuck at the Tenrou Island arc, for some reason). But, anyway, I've come back! After deciding to pick up Fairy Tail again (thanks to one of my friends), rereading Homestuck's entirety, coming back to fanfiction, and seeing everyone following and favoriting this story, I got a strange burst of motivation to finish this up. Besides, I'm rereading Homestuck and rewatching Fairy Tail at the same time, so I said to myself, "What better time to continue this story?" I've also done some planning for future chapters, so I'm set. It's just five days after the one-year anniversary of this fanfic, including the old version, as well, so that's nice...isn't it?**

 **Anyway, here's Chapter 3 of Fairystuck: The Tour - PT. 2!** **This chapter is a little long...sorry about that. It's once again in Kanaya's POV, because originally, The Tour was planned to be one chapter. However, the memo took up so much space that I ended up cutting it in half. Also, Vriska got better at controlling minds over time, and in my version of things, couldn't take control of the kids because they were literally universes apart.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the franchises Homestuck or Fairy Tail. Andrew Hussie and Hiro Mashima respectively own these franchises. I own only the plot of this story and, if they ever come, new characters/OC's.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Tour - PT. 2**

 **-Kanaya-**

"Oh? What is it?" Lucy asked, cocking her head like a dog.

"We Would Like To Put Forth A Deal," Kanaya said. "I Will Battle You One On One. No Help From Your Friends, No Help From Karkat On My End, Either. If You Win, You And Your Friends Will Tour Our Guild. If I Win, Only You Can Tour Our Guild. Obviously, The Battle Isnt To The Death."

"A battle?" Lucy repeated. "Isn't there any other way? I would really like to avoid a battle, if possible…"

Kanaya thought for a moment. _Was_ there any other way? She had never really seen Lucy's potential in battle, and she didn't know how strong she might be. Maybe they could negotiate simply through speech…

No. Kanaya knew that wouldn't work. Karkat was the most stubborn person in the world, yes, but it wasn't as if he had spectacular skills negotiating with anything. And Lucy had friends that could back her up, of course. They might, by some miracle, be more persistent than Karkat. Kanaya had heard rumors that members of Fairy Tail tended to be a little crazy-and with crazy came extreme persistence.

"We Both Know That Wont Work," Kanaya said. "Think About It. Is Anyone On Your Team Very Good At Negotiating?"

Lucy looked up at the sky, then shook her head. "I guess not, no. I can think of more than one person who would be awful role models in that kind of situation."

"Then What Other Option Do We Have?"

Lucy sighed. "I suppose you're right. We'll have to settle this with a duel. No one will be happy any other way."

Kanaya nodded. Even if they worked out something among themselves, without bringing Karkat or Lucy's friends, once they had proposed the idea to everybody else, it would likely be denied, no matter what. Kanaya could just imagine Karkat, screaming at the top of his lungs, "ABSOLUTELY NOT. WE SHOULDN'T BRING ANY MORE OUTSIDERS INTO THE GUILD THAN NEED BE. THAT'S THE WORST IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD IN THIS PLACE, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING."

"Should We Begin Now?" she asked.

Lucy shrugged. "What's the point in waiting?"

"Alright, Then." Kanaya quickly removed her chainsaw from her strife specibus.

Lucy gaped. "Where'd you get that? Are you… do you use Requipping Magic?"

Kanaya shook her head. "No. I Dont Practice That Type Of Magic. I Dont Even Know Anybody Who Does." It was the truth. Kanaya hadn't the slightest bit what "Requipping Magic" was. Educational books, along with Rose, could only teach her so much.

"Well, okay," Lucy said. She rummaged about in her pouch attached to the belt at Lucy's waist, which Kanaya realized also held a key ring.

"No… not that one… can't have an archer here, and there's no water…"

Finally, she pulled out a golden key from a key ring, stored inside a pouch attached to the belt Lucy had at her waist. The golden key had the same symbol Tavros wore on his shirt, but it was black this time around.

"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee!" Lucy shouted. "Taurus!"

 _Celestial Wizard Magic,_ Kanaya thought. She recognized the term from discussing with Rose and also picking it up in various books. Apparently it was a type of magic that allowed Celestial Wizards to use Gate Keys to transport Spirits in and out of the Spirit World to do whatever they so chose.

Kanaya couldn't fully understand the term, what with all of the foreign words tossed about in the definition, but she managed to grasp the simple meaning of it.

Out of the key sprang a large bull-like creature with black and white splotched skin. Kanaya swore it almost looked like… what had Rose called it… a minter? Something like that. She would have to ask the humans when she got back.

He was also incredibly pervy, apparently.

"Lucy, you have such a nice body like always!" he crooned.

"What?" Kanaya looked over at Taurus. Now that she was studying him more, she noticed the giant axe that was strapped to his back. It wasn't exactly helping her feel comfortable.

"Ignore him." Lucy waved a hand. "Anyway, Taurus, could you try to… er… don't harm this girl too badly. Just… a little bit? Not too much?"

"I can't," Taurus said.

"What do you mean, you can't?" Lucy asked.

"I feel like she did something for me," Taurus replied. "I haven't seen her before, though. Not like anyone would be more beautiful than you, Lucy!" he added.

Oh, right. Taurus had the same symbol as Tavros… that meant he might share some odd link with Tavros. Kanaya recalled that she had cut off Tavros's crippled legs on the meteor so Equius could attach his new robotic ones. She didn't really feel that Tavros had enjoyed a leg amputation, but the new robotic legs _were_ a good thing.

"So what you're saying is that you can't attack her?" Lucy said.

Taurus shook his head.

Lucy sighed. "Alright, then. It's not your fault." She waved her key. "Gate of the Golden Bull, I close thee!" Just like that, Taurus disappeared.

Next, Lucy took out her key for the Gate of the Crab-Cancer. Apparently, he must be the equivalent to Karkat, because he had the same symbol as Karkat. It was difficult not to hold in a laugh when seeing him however. Word for word, he said, "I will not hurt one of my very best friends-ebi."

"What's with your glowing thing anyway?" Lucy asked. "Is that why all of my Celestial Spirits are being scared off?"

"I Dont Think So," Kanaya replied. "Its Probably Something Else…" She didn't outright answer Lucy's question about her glowing complex, though. It was ideal not to delve into the topic of rainbow drinkers, especially in the midst of this very dull battle.

After that, Lucy opened the Gate of the Maiden, Virgo. This one's symbol matched Kanaya's symbol, and she said that she wasn't going to hurt the "same person as her but from another place, unlike somebody she believed she knew". That was clearly Karkat.

"That's that with battle spirits, then," Lucy sighed. "Now…" She produced a silver key, yet this one wasn't with any symbol Kanaya recognized, just an analog clock with two hands. She felt a surge of panic. Now she would have nothing against this Celestial Spirit, and would have to finally fight against Lucy.

"Gate of the Clock, I open thee!" Lucy called. "Horologium!"

Out of thin air, a grandfather clock appeared with a humanoid-but not quite human-face with a mustache on top of the clock. Almost suddenly, Lucy appeared inside of the grandfather clock, which Kanaya assumed was Horologium.

"Is That Another Celestial Spirit?" Kanaya inquired.

Instead of hearing Lucy's voice, she instead heard a deeper voice-Horologium's, apparently. "'Yes,' she says."

"You Cant Exactly Fight From There, Right? Can Horologium Fight?"

"'What do you think? He's a grandfather clock, and I'm trapped in it, but it does offer protection,' she says."

This was utterly baffling to Kanaya. She might be able to slice open the grandfather clock, but it might take _more_ than two charges or swings to do so, and Vriska might not be aware that she had to first dismiss the Celestial Spirit before making Lucy surrender. If there was any sort of wrench to throw in a plan, this clock Celestial Spirit was it.

"'Don't just stand there. Do something!' she says," Horologium said.

Kanaya raised her chainsaw and rushed forward at the grandfather clock. She wasn't intent on harming Lucy inside of Horologium, but she would have to cut open Horologium to free Lucy. She just had to hope that Celestial Spirits couldn't feel pain.

She ran her chainsaw through the glass, and expected it to shatter, maybe even fracture or splinter. But there didn't even seem to be a dent in it.

"'See? Horologium is impenetrable. He's the perfect protection!' she says."

Somehow, someway, the fact that Horologium was reciting all of Lucy's lines in such a monotone voice was starting to annoy the rainbow drinker in Kanaya. It was vital for Kanaya to bust Lucy out of that dumb grandfather clock.

"Well, I Say He Might Be Impenetrable For A Little Bit, But Not For Long," Kanaya responded. "To Those Without A Chainsaw, He May Seem Like The Perfect Protection."

"'Of course not! Nothing can damage Horologium. Not even large monkeys who took over a Fairy Tail wizard and also live in frosty mountains! Believe me, it's happened before,' she says."

 _Just as crazy as our escapades,_ Kanaya thought and slammed the chainsaw against the grandfather clock.

Suddenly, Horologium disappeared and Lucy fell onto the sand. "Hey, Horologium!" she shouted, looking irritated. "Come back! The fight hasn't ended!"

"The time has come for me to go," Horologium said, and all presence of the clock vanished.

"Argh!" Lucy said, standing up. "He always disappears at exactly the wrong times! Guess I'll have to fight by myself…" She pulled out the whip from her belt and stretched it. Kanaya tightened her grip on her chainsaw as Lucy rushed forward, raising her whip and preparing to use it.

 _That doesn't count as a charge,_ Kanaya thought, pleading that Karkat would be able to understand. She brought her chainsaw up as Lucy got closer, aiming to cut up the whip or at least make a dent in it. Lucy had expected the counterattack, clearly, and swung her whip out just in time. Kanaya ducked and jumped backwards. She would have to watch her step, especially with a chainsaw in her hands.

She would have to charge again eventually. Once Lucy had returned to her original spot, Kanaya decided it was time. She ran toward Lucy and Lucy raised her whip to defend herself. Instead, though, Kanaya ran right past Lucy, trying to give off the impression that she wanted to attack from behind. That wasn't her intent, however. In truth, she wanted to make sure Karkat was off giving Vriska the message now.

Sure enough, Karkat was running away, presumably to a safe spot where no one would be able to see him pulling out a laptop and contacting Vriska. Clearly, Fiore was still trapped in the medieval age or something of the sort.

Kanaya would just have to last until Vriska got the message and went for it. She dodged Lucy's constant attacks, when suddenly she felt Vriska's presence. It was obvious to sense. The spider troll always seemed to have some sort of deceitful aura around her. Karkat was also walking back, so Vriska must be there.

In a split second, Lucy ceased her constant attacks and fell on her knees, gasping for air. "I… I surrender…"

That second, apparently, was just enough for Vriska. Kanaya put her chainsaw back in her strife specibus as Vriska's presence seemed to vanish. Lucy looked up, no longer seeming possessed. Then she looked down again with a slight mournful expression. "I really did lose, didn't I?" she murmured.

Kanaya nodded, feeling a tinge of sympathy. Lucy had obviously wanted the rest of her friends to experience Alternian Beforus with them. It was a shame they couldn't come, but Kanaya and the others needed _some_ privacy. Just because Lucy could come didn't mean that anyone else who was interested could pay a visit.

Lucy sighed, then stood up. "Let's go to Alternian Beforus, then!" she said excitedly, all sorrow in her mood vanishing in an instant.

"Yes, Lets," Kanaya agreed. She looked over at Karkat. "Come On, Karkat."

"OKAY, I'M COMING!" Karkat shouted, walking over to them. "GIVE ME ONE SECOND TO WALK OVER, WOULD YOU? WHAT, DO YOU THINK I CAN TELEPORT OR SOMETHING? OR THAT I HAVE SUPER SPEED?"

"You Know People Who Have Both Of Those Talents, Karkat," Kanaya pointed out, trying to get the message across that the subject should be dropped.

"YEAH, WHATEVER. SO, UH…" Karkat pointed north. "THAT WAY TO THE GUILD, RIGHT?"

Kanaya sighed. She figured there was a reason why Karkat kept getting lost in this desert whenever he went somewhere from the guild.

"Wait!" Lucy said, sparing Karkat the lecture from Kanaya that would've surely come otherwise. "I need to alert my friends that they can't come. One second." Lucy ran off. Kanaya watched her as she ran until she couldn't see her anymore, then glanced over at Karkat, who shrugged.

A few minutes later, Lucy came back. She looked a little depressed, but at the same time… she almost looked more joyful. It was strange to describe her that way, Kanaya knew, but she figured that Lucy was sad that her friends couldn't come-however, at the same time, she was pleased she would be able to finally go to Alternian Beforus.

They started walking north.

* * *

A little while later, after Karkat had almost gotten them lost a few times, they arrived at the building for Alternian Beforus. Lucy stared up at it, gaping in awe. Kanaya didn't think of it as much. They had only purchased the biggest empty lot everyone could afford-they had to convert all of their boondollars to "jewel", which had attracted some looks-and built as much as they could. There were two banners hanging over the doorway-one showing the planet of Prospit, the other showing the planet of Derse-along with the words "ALTERNIAN BEFORUS" painted on the building in black letters. Because of the limited amount of materials they had had, the building was all wood, and only slightly taller than the average house. There was of course the danger of a fire, but as far as Kanaya knew, no one in the guild building so far had been able to conjure fire.

"I'm finally here…" Lucy whispered. "After so long…"

There was a moment of silence after that, until Kanaya finally suggested, "Lets Go Inside." Both Karkat and Lucy nodded, although Karkat wasn't very enthusiastic at the prospect of entering. Kanaya pried the door open, and Lucy rushed in, taking quick breaths. Karkat followed, and Kanaya brought up the rear, making sure to lock the door behind her.

"Wow!" Lucy gasped. "This place looks amazing!" She ran around, most of the guild members staring at her like she was a brand new specimen. The only ones who managed to ignore Lucy were Aradia-which was typical of her-Sollux, who was trying his hardest to pretend not to notice, and Dave, which also tended to be typical of Dave to not pay attention to the big details.

"Who are the S-Class Wizards here?" Lucy asked, pausing for a moment in her revelry to look over at Kanaya and Karkat.

A distant memory surfaced in Kanaya's mind. A little while ago, right before Jade was able to send them all back to the meteor and, for Jade and John, their golden Prospitian battleship, Alternian Beforus had taken the S-Class Wizard Advancement Exam. About two thirds of the guild had been able to participate, and it turned out that John, Dave, Aradia, and Vriska all had emerged victorious. Kanaya suspected that the next time around, Jade and/or Rose would be able to gain S-Class-Jade had still been getting used to being the main means of transportation for everybody.

Kanaya told Lucy that John, Dave, Aradia, and Vriska were the S-Class Wizards of their guild.

"Oh! Can I meet them?" Lucy questioned.

"Sure. I Dont See Why Not," Kanaya conceded.

They talked briefly with Aradia, and once their conversation had been finished up, Lucy turned to Kanaya. "Aradia said something about Vriska being more active than her as an S-Class Wizard… could I perhaps meet her? I really want to learn more about S-Class. I mean, I'm acquainted with some of the S-Class Wizards of my guild, but they never tell me what S-Class is like."

Interesting. Someone actually _wanted_ to meet Vriska. There was the chance that Lucy might realize Vriska had been the one to possess her if they met face-to-face, but Kanaya was confident that it would be settled down sooner or later. "Okay. Ill Bring You To Her," she said.

Kanaya led Lucy to a few tables over, where Vriska was seated by herself, observing the other guild members. "Lucy," she introduced, "This Is Vriska. Vriska, This Is Lucy." Vriska turned around, wearing her regular clothes rather than her God Tier ones-which was good, as it saved some explanation.

"Oh, hello!" Vriska said, smirking. "Didn't see you there. My 8ad."

"Please Dont Tell Me Youre Watching Tavros Again," Kanaya said. "He Already Had To Suffer Enough From You. He Really Doesnt Need More."

"Relaaaaaaaax!" Vriska sighed. "I'm not taking another step toward him, alright? Or anyone else, for that matter. Stop 8eing so on your guard, Kanaya. Anyw8y…" She looked toward Lucy. "Are you Lucy?"

Lucy nodded, looking just a tad bit frightened.

"Look, there's nothing to worry a8out from me!" Vriska said. "Kanaya's just 8eing overly protective is all. It's her motherly instinct getting the 8est of her. Honestly! Don't let her scare you."

"Vriska…" Kanaya warned. She knew that Vriska was lying to try and win Lucy's favor over. She wanted a good first impression was all.

"Sorry, sorry." Vriska waved a hand dismissively, clearly not being sincere about her apology. "So Karkat invited you to tour our guild, Lucy? Goodness. You're quite the f8mous one. 8ut so am I! I'm Vriska Serket, resident S-Class Wizard of Alternian 8eforus, and pro8a8ly the strongest out of all of us!" Vriska's smile grew wider as she studied Lucy's fascinated face.

"Am I really that famous?"

"Sure you are. You're the only one Karkat hasn't flipped his finger off to when he had the chance. Personally, I'm impressed. No one has gotten that far with him!"

"Wow," she whispered. She spoke up, a little louder. "I feel like I've felt your presence before. Where have I met you before? I don't remember seeing you, but…"

 _Here it comes,_ Kanaya thought.

"M8y8e you saw me 8efore, 8ut you don't remem8er," Vriska suggested. "Or you heard a8out me. I'm sure you'd recognize me! 8ut either way, that's not _that_ important, is it? Don't you have a question you need to ask me?"

"Vriska, What Exactly Have You Been Doing While You Were Sitting At This Table?" Kanaya said in a warning kind of tone. Had Vriska been probing Lucy's mind and figuring out all about her? Or had she been eavesdropping on Lucy's conversation with Aradia? Either way, Kanaya would have to put a stop to it before things got too out of hand.

"Nothing!" Vriska lied easily. "What are you implying? I haven't 8een doing anything of importance. Just lying around, w8ing for something significant to happen."

Lucy glanced around, then finally said, "Well, Vriska… I was wondering what it was like, being an S-Class Wizard? We took an S-Class job once, and we got in big trouble for it… the job was crazy! So much stuff happened when we were doing it. Has that ever happened to you?"

"Almost all of the time!" Vriska said. "S-Class jo8s are dangerous. There's a reason they're closed off to much more advanced wizards, right? 8ut you did a gr8 jo8! Coming 8ack from an S-Class jo8 relatively unscarred and well? For a wizard that isn't S-Class, that's pretty good! Tell you what. I think you should go on another S-Class jo8 when you have the chance."

"We'd get in even more trouble if we did that," Lucy admitted, suddenly looking nervous. "I mean, the Guild Master would punish us, and Erza would also do the same…"

"Don't worry a8out them! Those S-Class Wizards had it going for them! Strutting around 8oasting of their gr8 magic power. And 8esides, those jo8s are just sitting there. Lingering, w8ing for some8ody to pick them up. It's like they're _asking_ to 8e snatched up 8y unwelcome hands!"

"No, I should be worrying about them," Lucy said. "You see, Erza is part of my team…" She shook. "She'd beat me up if I did anything wrong! And our Guild Master is one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

Vriska shrugged. Then she glanced around. "Hey, have you talked with any of the other S-Class Wizards yet? They'd pro8a8ly advise you on other things 8etter than I could, if that's what you're seeking out."

"Um…"

"No matter," Vriska continued. "You should go speak to John, Dave, and Aradia if you haven't already! Anyw8y, I need to go catch a 8r8k. See you l8er, f8mous girl! Oh, and Kanaya too, I suppose." And with that, Vriska stood up, brushed right past Lucy and Kanaya both, and strutted away.

Kanaya wanted to sigh at the whole exchange. Apparently Vriska had gotten tired of playing with Lucy. But the fact was, Lucy didn't know she was being manipulated. She didn't know about Vriska's ability to control minds. She also didn't know that Vriska was dangerous. The whole reason Vriska had won the S-Class Wizard Advancement Exam in the first place was because she had been cheating and harming her opponents when it was uncalled for all over the place. Or she had been manipulating her luck to get an easy way through.

"Lets Go See John And Dave," she advised. "Its Best To Leave Vriska Alone When She Makes It Clear Thats How She Wants It To Be." Kanaya had learned from her meddling days, after all.

Lucy just nodded, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

* * *

Their talks with John and Dave hadn't been very exciting. Either way, though, they were pleasant enough-Dave barely noticed Lucy at all, but John, as always, had been trying his best to get along well and answering suitable questions if he could. Still, Lucy took in all of the information like a bee sucking nectar. Kanaya assumed she wanted to gather as much information as possible to tell to her friends, and that was alright, she supposed, as long as they let none of their secrets slip.

After chatting with the other God Tiers, Lucy turned to Kanaya and Karkat. "I have some questions," the Fairy Tail wizard announced.

"Go Right Ahead," Kanaya said.

"Who's the master of Alternian Beforus?" Lucy asked.

Kanaya kept in a groan. She had a feeling this question would come up some time or another. In Fiore, there were apparently "guild masters"-she recalled Lucy talking about hers being one of the "Ten Wizard Saints" before with Vriska, in charge of guilds, and most likely the strongest member, if not, at least one of the strongest members. However, Alternian Beforus didn't have any sort of guild master, as it was the cover for the trolls and the kids.

"Were Transitioning Between Masters," Kanaya said. "Our First Master Retired And Didnt Leave Any Clue As To Who Should Replace Him. So Right Now, Were Trying To Figure Out Who Our New Master Should Be."

"Do you have any candidates?" Lucy said.

"Um… Not Right Now, No," Kanaya admitted. As far as she knew, it was typical of a previous wizard of the guild to take over as master, usually an S-Class Wizard, but none of the S-Class Wizards they had would be fit for a leader-except maybe John, but… she doubted that it would be allowed, and besides, he never had the commanding air of a leader in the first place. Vriska had, in fact, managed to take control of him before.

Disappointment rang in Lucy's tone as she said, "Well… alright, but as soon as you find somebody suitable to take on the job, please tell me. Please?"

Kanaya nodded. "Ill Do That." Of course, she had no real intention of finding a suitable choice for a master of their guild. As far as sprites went, apparently Jade had brought the four planets from the kids' session with them, meaning Nannasprite, Jaspersprite, and Davesprite were there, but none of them could ever be a leader or master of anything.

"Great!" Lucy clapped her hands together. "Also… what's with all of your gray skin and horns? Furthermore, Kanaya, what's with your glowy thing?"

"My Glowy Thing?" Kanaya asked, figuring it would be best to play dumb.

"You know what I mean." Lucy narrowed her eyes. "I know you're the same species as Karkat and Vriska and Aradia. You all have orange and yellow horns on your heads and black hair. But your skin is glowing a white color. What's that about?"

"Well," Kanaya laughed nervously. Her eyes darted around the guild, searching for somebody who would be able to help her. These were the questions that everyone asked when any of the trolls were on jobs. And they were the reason why Kanaya tended to avoid jobs unless absolutely necessary.

When she found no one to help her-even Karkat was looking the other way, apparently uninterested-she decided she would have to improvise by herself. And truth be told, Kanaya wasn't any good at having to cover up large parts of the truth. "We Come From A Different Place Than Fiore," Kanaya explained. That was true, at least. "We-Everyone With Gray Skin And Horns-Are Of A Different Species In That Place Called Trolls. Thats All There Is To It."

"But what's with your white skin?"

"Well, Im Of A Certain Caste That The Trolls Have," Kanaya explained. "Im A Little… Different, Is A Good Way Of Putting It. I Have Some Enhanced Features And Other Powers. Its Not That Different. Im Still Like Any Other Person On The Inside, Along With The Other Trolls. We Just May Have More… Interesting Personalities, And Different Looks."

Lucy nodded slowly. "Alright. I understand some of that. But this is an amazing guild!" She looked around. "All of you treat each other so well! It's a lot better than Fairy Tail." Lucy dropped her voice down to a whisper. "They're always fighting…"

"I WOULDN'T SAY THAT," Karkat said. "MORE OR LESS, WE JUST HURT EVERYBODY ELSE MORE THAN TREAT EACH OTHER WELL."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Lucy glanced at Karkat.

"WELL, LET'S SEE. WE'VE HAD _LOADS_ OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES, MOSTLY ALL BECAUSE OF SOME PERSON OR OTHER WHO MANAGED TO SCREW THINGS UP. LIKE VRISKA. IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO BACKSTAB SOMEBODY ELSE, SHE'S YOUR NUMBER ONE CHOICE! SHE CRIPPLED TAVROS'S LEGS, WHICH IS WHY HE NEEDS TO BE IN THAT FOUR-WHEEL DEVICE. SHE BLINDED TEREZI, IN SOME WAY THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT MUCH. AND SHE ALMOST KILLED ARADIA!" Kanaya noted that Karkat said "almost killed"-it was difficult enough explaining about trolls, and would prove to be even more of a challenge talking about dreamselves, resurrection, and going God Tier.

Lucy's eyes widened. "She _did_? No, I… I can't believe that! She helped me understand S-Class most! She told me so many things! Are you saying… are you saying that I was manipulated?"

"MOST LIKELY," Karkat confirmed. "I MEAN, THERE'S A 99.99% CHANCE THAT YOU WERE MANIPULATED. IF IT'S SAID BY VRISKA, AND NOT TO JOHN OR SOMEBODY SHE MIGHT TAKE A GENUINE LIKING TO, IT'S A LIE!"

Lucy looked down and sniffed. When she looked up, there were tears gathering in her eyes. Great. Just great. Kanaya glared at Karkat. Why did he have to open his mouth and blab on about how they weren't to be trusted? It was the truth, yes, but he didn't have to make Lucy cry. "I… was… tricked…" Lucy whispered between sniffs. Then she turned, hightailing toward the entrance.

"Wait!" Kanaya called. She wasn't that attached to Lucy, but she shouldn't go running off because of something careless Karkat had spouted about Vriska. "Its Not Something To Get Worked Up About! Vriska Always-"

But Lucy had ripped open the door already, not exactly caring about what Kanaya said anymore. Then she turned back one last time to face Kanaya, tears now streaming down her face. She took a deep breath and shouted, "I'll come back some other time! Trust me!" Even though she was crying, her eyes seethed with fierce determination that Kanaya never thought possible of the Fairy Tail wizard.

She turned away and dashed through the entrance. The door slammed behind her, leaving a slight vibration that left trolls and kids alike staring at Kanaya and Karkat.

* * *

 **A/N: So, did you like it? Please let me know by reviewing this story! And if you like this story, please follow and/or favorite it! I accept constructive criticism, but there's a fine line between constructive criticism and simply saying "I hate this" without telling me the reason.**

 **Don't forget, I have a poll open on my page asking who your least favorite troll in Homestuck is. I'm going to use it for this story, so please vote for it! I'll close it up once the time comes for me to put the results into action, which shouldn't be for a while...but you never know!**

 **I did change some things between this story and the original. For one thing, if you read the chapter, Team Natsu isn't meeting Gl'bgolyb any time soon. Mostly because I realized that was a huge plothole in and of itself. But don't worry; that chapter will still be existing, just not with Gl'bgolyb in it.**

 **Next chapter, "Nepeta Leijon's Fiore 'Counterpart?'", Nepeta finally actually has a lot of pieces of dialogue, and ends up helping Fairy Tail! And...there might be some repeated POV's.**


	4. Nepeta Leijon's Fiore 'Counterpart'

**A/N: Hello, everybody! Once again, another month break... I had to work on my fairy tale retelling from school a lot, and then once I had finished, we had to go on vacation for spring break (we went to New York, Washington D.C., and New Hampshire... it was a blast!), but now I'm back, and I decided to churn out this chapter for all of you! I'll try to update more frequently from now on, and I've also planned a lot more chapters (I'm basically done planning for the Tower of Heaven arc). I also caught up on the actual Fairy Tail series, so now we're good to go on future arcs. All in all, I took what I'd like to call a _productive break._**

 **Review replies:**

 **Guest: Don't worry, I will. :)**

 **RepeatingSimplePhrases: Thanks for all of the kind words! I hope that you like this chapter just as much as the others :)**

 **This chapter is in Lucy's POV (yeah, I know, I'm repeating POV's a lot...) but the truth is, she's really the only POV I can really do in this chapter that's present. Also, she's meant to be one of the main characters in this fic, so...**

 **Without further ado, let's get on with the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fairy Tail or Homestuck. Hiro Mashima and Andrew Hussie, respectively, both own their franchises, and I do not own the characters, most of the plot, or most of the locations.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Nepeta Leijon's Fiore "Counterpart?"**

 **-Lucy-**

If there was one thing that Lucy was feeling after Vriska had apparently tricked her, it was absolutely deceived. Nevertheless, Lucy still wanted to visit Alternian Beforus. There was something strange about them she couldn't put her finger on. The guild members were obviously hiding something from her, judging by the way they acted… so what was it?

In fact, knowing that one of their members was extremely deceitful only made Lucy even more determined. Had Vriska actually killed others, and had she actually come close to killing one of her fellow guild members? When it came to Alternian Beforus, Lucy couldn't be sure about anything, and she wanted to be one of the people to find something out for once. She would have to take action to reach her goal.

But, of course, when Lucy was a member of Fairy Tail, that wasn't ever going to happen. Day-to-day life was hard enough having to put up with Natsu and Gray's constant arguing, Fairy Tail's craziness in general, and now rebuilding the guild. She was uncertain that she might be able to make it to Alternian Beforus by next week.

"Honestly," Gray said when Lucy had approached the whole team about Alternian Beforus, "you don't need to spend so much time around them. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're obsessed."

However, Natsu wasn't paying so much attention to that, and, as always, focusing in on the minute details. "Somebody there tricked you?" Natsu roared-literally, since he was a Dragon Slayer. "And almost killed a member of their own guild? I need to go show them a piece of my mind!" As he spoke, he started running off and away from the construction site. Happy followed him, not doing anything to stop him, and it was actually quite the contrary, as Happy was encouraging him by yelling, "Aye, sir!"

"Please, Natsu, don't!" Lucy cried, grabbing the end of Natsu's scarf and dragging him back to the rest of the team. "It's really not that big of a deal. I heard that the person who tricked me tends to trick people often… I'm no different! Really, you don't have to try and attack her. Besides, she's an S-class wizard. She'd beat you up!"

"Doesn't matter!" Natsu shouted. "They shouldn't get away with any of that stuff! A guild is a place where people should be bonding. Not a place where the members almost kill themselves!"

"Let's not forget that you've been roughed up by a lot of Fairy Tail, too…" Lucy muttered. "Besides," she added, raising her voice, "it sounds like you're trying to find an excuse to fight them."

"Of course not! Why would you think that?"

"Are you sure we can trust them?" Erza said, luckily interrupting Natsu's outburst. "For all we know, everybody in that guild could be tricking you. You can't know anything for certain about these people, as you barely know anything about them that's true."

"They're not bad people," Lucy replied. "I just know it. I've met some of their members. And aside from Vriska, they all seem like pretty nice people! Plus, Karkat saved Natsu from Gajeel. Natsu would've died if it weren't for Karkat!"

"Exactly! He stole my show!" Natsu put in.

"Even if you might have died to Gajeel without him…?" Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You said that one of them fought you." Erza raised her eyebrows. "Are they still good people?"

Lucy wanted to facepalm. Her friends either looked at the big picture or zoomed in on the very unnecessary details. "That was a battle to decide if we should all go to their guild or not. I respect their privacy! But they're hiding something huge, and I want to know what. If you think about it, it was just like your fight with Natsu before!"

"That makes them even more suspicious," Gray pointed out.

"Whatever. I'm done here." Lucy started to walk away, then stopped. "I'm leaving. Do any of you want to come with me to their guild next week?"

"For what?" Natsu yawned.

"We're going to pay them a visit," Lucy said. "And I'm going to try to find what else they're hiding."

Natsu shrugged. "We could be going out on a job…"

"Oh, come on!" Lucy groaned.

"I'll go with you," Erza decided. "Someone needs to watch over you to make sure Alternian Beforus doesn't do anything funny. I'm still not trusting them."

Gray nodded. "I'll see if I can come as well."

"Fine!" Natsu grumbled. "Wherever that guy goes, I go, too! I have to do a better job than him!"

"What did you say?" Gray growled.

Lucy shook her head as the two began to argue. They'll never stop, Lucy thought as they shouted obstinacies at each other. Well, at least they were all going to Alternian Beforus next week. That, at least, was a plan they all had in mind.

* * *

-Lucy's House-

"Are you sure you don't know anything?" Lucy persisted, glancing at Crux. "Do you recognize the name Karkat Vantas at all?"

"No," Crux replied. "He is not a Celestial Wizard. But I can tell you something…"

"Yes?" Lucy leaned forward eagerly.

Crux looked straight at her. "Karkat Vantas does not come from Fiore. I cannot place exactly where he comes from, but he definitely doesn't come from Fiore. He comes from somewhere far away, somewhere where magic is found."

Lucy nodded. "What about Kanaya Maryam?"

Crux appeared to be sleeping again.

"He's sleeping!" Happy announced.

"No, he's researching," Lucy said.

After a few moments, Crux opened his eyes again.

It turned out that the results were same for Kanaya. She came from a different place other than Fiore, like Karkat. It was the same for Aradia and Vriska, as well. None of them were Celestial Wizards, and they came from somewhere other than Fiore-somewhere far away.

I know all of that already, Lucy thought. None of the information was useful to her. Maybe there would be new information later?

All of a sudden, Gray barged into her house. "Lucy, we have a problem!"

"Don't trespass in other people's houses!" Lucy snapped, outraged.

Gray ignored her, and said, "Loke's gone and left Fairy Tail. We've looked all over for him, and we can't find him."

"What?" Lucy asked, her mood doing an instant 360.

"The whole guild's searching for him," Gray explained. "Can you help?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I will." She ran out of her apartment, hurtling toward a destination she was sure of. I questioned Crux about it… I think I know where Loke is!

* * *

-Alternian Beforus-

-Nobody's POV-

Nepeta stood up suddenly. ":33 *ac announces that she'll be going out," she said, "and won't be back until nighttime!*"

"D - You'll be alright, won't you," Equius said. "D - I don't want you to get injured in a place like this."

":33 i'll be furine, equius!" Nepeta replied, slightly irritated. ":33 i can take care of myself!"

"D - Okay," Equius said, not looking okay in the slightest. "D - But if you see any sign of danger, do not hesitate to come back right away."

":33 i will, okay?" Nepeta groaned. ":33 you can be so annoying sometimes, equius! honestly! i'll be purrfectly fine. don't worry even a little bit!"

"Where Will You Be Going?" Kanaya inquired.

":33 just out and about!" Nepeta answered. ":33 i want to s33 more of this universe, and get to know it more. it's really interesting!"

"Youll Be Back By Nighttime, Right?" Kanaya said. "Like You Said You Would?"

":33 no purromises!" Nepeta said. ":33 but i'll try to be back by then. if i don't come back by tomorrow, you can send a search and rescue team out to find me! but only if that happens."

Kanaya nodded. "Be Careful," she called as Nepeta started to leave.

":33 i promise i will! sheesh, you're starting to become like equius!" Nepeta yelled back as the doors slammed shut behind her.

* * *

-Lucy's POV-

Lucy ran through the city, tearing past onlookers. She had only one location in mind that she was going to, and she was determined to get there.

Finally, she arrived at her destination. Karen Lilica's grave. It was at the edge of a cliff, with a waterfall behind it. It was a beautiful place, but Lucy didn't want to know what could happen if she fell.

Loke was standing there, his back to her. Lucy slowed, walking toward him. He turned.

"There you are!" Lucy exclaimed. "The whole guild's been searching for you, Loke." She paused before continuing. "But that's not your real name, is it? It's the Celestial Spirit, Leo the Lion."

Loke smiled a little sadly. "You figured it out," he said.

Behind her, the bushes rustled. Lucy whipped around. "Who's there?" She shouted.

":33 sorry!" a high-pitched voice called out. A few moments later, a face poked out of the bushes and the stranger climbed out.

The newcomer had gray skin, much like the trolls of Alternian Beforus. Over her black hair-and also presumably her horns, as Lucy assumed that all trolls had those kinds of horns-she wore a blue hat that resembled a cat's head. She had on a black shirt with a light green Leo symbol, and gray pants. Over the shirt she wore a light green jacket, the same shade as the Zodiac symbol on her shirt. She wore blue shoes, and Lucy also noticed a blue cat's tail. The girl had yellow eyes and a mouth shaped like a cat's, equipped with light blue claws that looked very sharp.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked. If she was from Alternian Beforus, then she wouldn't have to worry-still, if she wasn't, with those claws, she could deal serious damage.

":33 i'm nepeta leijon!" the troll girl-now identified as Nepeta-replied. ":33 i'm sorry for startling you."

"It's alright." Lucy waved a hand. "Are you from Alternian Beforus? You look like some of their members."

Nepeta nodded. Then a look of familiarity dawned on her. ":33 oh, are you that purrson that i saw the other day?" she asked. ":33 i saw you with karkat and kanaya. they were touring you around the guild."

"Yeah, I went to your guild a couple days ago," Lucy answered. "But how did you get here?"

":33 i was only roaming around and exploring," Nepeta explained. ":33 then i ran into you two, and you both look like you n33d help."

"I-" Lucy stopped when she saw Nepeta's pleading eyes. "Alright, fine. You can stay if you want."

Nepeta smiled, putting away her claws-Lucy still thought that all the members of Alternian Beforus must use some sort of Requipping Magic-and straightened up. Lucy turned back to face Loke, who was staring at Nepeta.

"Anyway, Loke…" Lucy said. "Karen's dead, isn't she? Once the owner of a Celestial Spirit dies, the Celestial Spirit should return to the Spirit World. Why are you still in the Human World? Did something happen"

"I'm at the edge of my limit," Loke whispered, turning to look at Lucy. "It's been three years."

"Three years?" Lucy exclaimed. "I couldn't even imagine one! We need to get you to the Spirit World, and fast! You might die!"

"I can't," Loke said.

"Why not?" Lucy shouted. "You'll die otherwise!"

"Because…" He looked down at his hands. "With my own two hands… I killed my master, Karen Lilica."

* * *

Nepeta looked just as shocked alongside Lucy, and Lucy couldn't blame her. Loke had killed Karen?

"But…" Lucy began.

"One of the most fundamental rules between owner and Spirit is that the Spirit can't kill the owner," Loke said. "And I broke it. I killed Karen."

"How?" Lucy whispered. "How is that you…"

Loke sighed. "Well, Karen was in the Blue Pegasus guild…"

He then proceeded to tell Lucy and Nepeta about how one day, Karen Lilica had treated Aries like a tool to distract the men at Blue Pegasus. Bob, the guild master, had told her not to mistreat her Celestial Spirits. Because Karen thought that Aries had told Bob of what Karen was doing, she beat up Aries later that day. Loke had come out of the gate of his own free will, and had ordered Karen to release his and Aries's keys. Naturally, Karen refused. Aries and Loke were two of the Golden Gate keys, the Zodiac keys, and there were only 12 in the world. Loke was also possibly the strongest of the Zodiac keys.

Loke kept on persisting. A whole week had passed, and Loke was still in the human world, with Karen never fully agreeing to release their keys.

A whole month passed. One day, Bob had come to the temple where Loke was staying and had broken the news to him. Karen had died in an accident in a job. Some Celestial Spirit Wizards were able to open two gates with enough magic power, and she had attempted to do so. However, it consumed too much of her magic power, and Karen died.

"I was so mad," he said. "Mad with myself… I only wanted Karen to realize that she was mistreating Celestial Spirits. But then she died… it was my fault. This is how I have to atone for my sins."

":33 no!" Nepeta cried in frustration. ":33 this is none of your fault! it's karen's. if she had done what you had asked and released you and aries earlier, this wouldn't be happawning. you're not the one to blame. karen is!"

"You wouldn't understand," Loke broke in. "I was the one to cause Karen's death."

":33 why do you k33p saying that you caused karen's death?" Nepeta snapped. ":33 listen to me. you aren't!"

"Nepeta," Lucy said, "you don't have to participate in this. You're not a Celestial Spirit Wizard or a Celestial Spirit. This is between the Celestial Spirits and their owners…"

":33 but i do understand," Nepeta protested. ":33 just beclaws i'm not a celestial spurrit wizard doesn't mean i can't understand! all i n33d to know is loke's past. that's all!"

"You don't understand death," Lucy replied. Nepeta appeared so… childish and young. How could she have ever interacted with death? "If Loke needs to get back to the Spirit World, that's my job."

":33 who do you think i am, a stupid fool?" Nepeta growled. ":33 me and my furiends understand death purrfectly fine! at alternian befurus, there are so many things that we've all gone through. do you think i'm inexperienced? i've killed beasts with my own hands! at one point, i did it daily!"

Lucy stared at Nepeta. Apparently there was another side to her. Lucy had thought of her as a simple, childish person. She wouldn't know anything about getting Loke back to the Celestial Spirit World, and she wouldn't have any experience on the topic. Or so Lucy thought. It was hard to believe that Nepeta killed beasts with her own hands. The members of Alternian Beforus sure are loaded with surprises, she thought.

"Er…" Lucy tried to avoid replying to Nepeta as she turned back to face Loke. "Whatever the case, Loke, we need to get you back to the Spirit World! I don't care if we break the rules! If you don't go back, you're going to die!"

Loke shook his head. "I told you. It's against the rules. I can't go back there… I betrayed my owner… this is how I'll pay."

":33 you must!" Nepeta shouted. ":33 it was karen's own stupidity that she died. she was so foolish that she thought she could do what efurryone knew she couldn't! you shouldn't be blamed for her death! there's no reason you should go back to the spirit world!"

"No, if I had given up earlier, then she wouldn't have died… it wasn't because of her that she died…"

Nepeta growled and huffed. ":33 don't be like that! we all know it was beclaws of karen's own supurriority that she purrished. you shouldn't say anything otherwise."

"Nepeta's right," Lucy said, after considering the troll's words for a few seconds. "No one should be blaming you!"

":33 right!" Nepeta agreed. ":33 so, who do we contact to get you back to the spirit world? who do we ask for purrmission?"

"It's no use," Loke said. His words seemed harder to get out. They were raspier, and he himself looked like he was under a lot of strain. "What's done is done. You can't get me back to the Spirit World, regardless of all your persuading. I told you already. I have to atone for my sins-"

":33 and you think dying is going to solve anything?" Nepeta yelled, stepping closer to the gravestone until she was face to face with Loke. Lucy followed. ":33 how is following in the footsteps of your 'owner' going to resolve any of your problems? it'd create more! look! do you know how heartbroken the fairy tail guild would be if you died? you're a member of their guild, either way! don't die knowing you still have people that care for you in the living world!"

Loke's eyes widened. He said nothing for a few moments.

Lucy approached him and ran over to him, kneeling down as he was now. "I won't let you say that again! You're going back to the Spirit World!" she shouted. "Close, Gate of the Lion!"

"Lucy, stop it!" Loke shouted back, snapping out of his trance. "You're just going to take yourself with me if you keep it up!"

"I will not stop!" she protested. "What good would I be if I let a fellow Fairy Tail wizard die like this? Close, Gate of the Lion! Loke's gate, close! Close! Close!"

"Lucy, you can't!" Loke yelled.

"Let me speak to the person who controls the Celestial Spirit World!" Lucy yelled. Power was draining out of her. She already felt weak enough. But she wasn't stopping. She wasn't stopping until Loke's gate was closed! "Please! Close!"

Suddenly, there was a huge blast of light all around them. The force was so strong that Loke's glasses fell off and cracked. Lucy had to raise her arm to shield herself from the light.

A huge beast rose up from the water behind them. Nepeta's claws came out, the young troll ready to fight. Lucy saw a beast clad in a full set of armor, a long mustache curling from his face. Thick white horns were on top of his head, paired with red eyes and light blue skin. He glared down at Lucy and Loke, but then looked at Nepeta and did a double take. Was that… surprise in his eyes?

"The Celestial Spirit King," Loke breathed.

Lucy decided to cut right to the chase. "Please!" she begged. "Please let Loke go back to the Spirit World! It wasn't his fault that Karen Lilica died! He doesn't deserve to die! Please!"

Lucy's bottled up agitation was let loose. How much was it going to take to get Loke back to the Spirit World? All of her spirits came out of their gates. Aquarius the Water Bearer, Cancer the Crab, Virgo the Maiden, Taurus the Golden Bull, Sagittarius the Centaur, and even her Silver keys… Lyra, Crux, and everyone else. They were all standing by the gravestone.

"So many spirits…" Loke murmured. "Even Karen couldn't bring forth that much all at once…"

"Please! Don't die!" she shouted. "Everyone here doesn't want you to die! No one does! So don't!"

"Seeing a Celestial Spirit Wizard sacrificing that much to return an old friend to the Spirit World…" the Celestial Spirit King murmured. "It is touching. However, rules are rules. My old friend cannot return, as he has done a wrong. He killed his owner, and according to the Spirit World's rules, that is strictly forbidden. No amount of pleading can change that."

":33 you're the one who's in charge of the spirit world, right?" Nepeta asked, stepping forward. ":33 here's some food for thought! do you really think it's right to take away more lives just beclaws one was stolen? not only are you letting loke die, you're also killing lucy by killing one of her guild members! i may not know much about fairy tail, and i'm certainly not even in the guild, but i know that they'd never leave their comrades behind! at my guild, none of my furiends would ever let their furiends die to other people outside our group like that! i know you can't be as cruel to let loke die. why don't you stop?"

"Nepeta…" Lucy whispered.

The Celestial Spirit King swung his head over to look at her. "Who dares speak to me in that kind of tone? Why are you even here, alien?"

Nepeta's eyes widened, staring up at the Celestial Spirit King.

Alien…? Lucy thought. What does he mean by alien? Are Nepeta and the others… are they not from this world? Kanaya told me that they were trolls, from somewhere far away… I assumed it was from another country… but is it something more?

Finally, Nepeta got up the bravery to speak again. ":33 i'm here beclaws that's my choice!" she shouted.

"That's right!" Lucy yelled, standing up. I'll have to ask Nepeta and the others about the 'alien' remark later… but right now, I've got someone's life I need to save! "Nepeta is right! You should stop. You're paining me by not even lifting a finger to help Loke. He might be the most powerful Spirit! And you're just going to let him die like that? What kind of a person are you?"

The Celestial Spirit King folded his arms. "I'm sorry, but no amount of begging and pleading will ever change the fate of my old friend. The decision is final."

"Just let it go," Loke said. "I can die-"

 _"Old friend?"_ Lucy interrupted. "Who are you calling an old friend? He's not an old friend! He's still your friend! Stop calling him that!"

The Celestial Spirit King was silent.

She took in a deep breath. All of her Spirits were still here. "Listen," she said. "It was not Loke's fault that Karen died. Like Nepeta said, it was her own fault. Even if he did kill her… well, he didn't play much of a part in it. Again, like Nepeta said, it was Karen's own stupidity that she died!"

The Celestial Spirit King still said nothing, and Nepeta took this as her chance.

":33 exactly!" Nepeta agreed. ":33 lucy is right. it wasn't loke's fault that karen lilica died. it was her own fault. she has no one to blame but herself! listen to me! _**you will change the rules so loke can go back to the spirit world!**_ "

Another moment of silence passed.

The Celestial Spirit King sighed. "Very well," he said. "For my old friend… and for both of your sakes, as I can see that you are quite determined on letting him leave… I will bend the rules just this once. He may return to the Spirit World."

Loke stared up at him in shock.

"This is how you will atone for your sins," the Celestial Spirit King continued. "You will continue to live on… and you will serve your new master as best as you can."

Loke nodded. "Yes… thank you."

He turned back to face Lucy and Nepeta, a smile on his face. "Thank you both, too," he said as he vanished in a spurt of golden light. The Celestial Spirit King did, too.

In Loke's place was a key. Lucy ran to pick it up, thinking that it could be what she had thought…

It was indeed. The golden key had Leo's symbol on it, in red-orange. Lucy smiled triumphantly, and linked the key in her own keychain.

She looked back at Nepeta to thank her, but the troll had already disappeared. Lucy sighed. And she had wanted to talk to Nepeta more about Alternian Beforus, too…

Oh, well. It would have to wait until when Lucy met with Alternian Beforus again. Then she would confront them about what the Celestial Spirit King had said.

* * *

-In A Nearby Forest-

Nepeta was extremely ecstatic as she was running back home. Although part of it was because she had managed to contribute in saving Loke's life, the real reason was…

":33 *a new ship! a new ship, ac exclaims with delight!*" she squealed as she ran. ":33 now, are they pale or flushed… oh, flushed, of course! silly me!"

She kept laughing as she ran all the way back to the guild.

* * *

 **A/N: Did you enjoy this chapter? (I know I enjoyed writing it...) Please let me know by reviewing this story! And if you like this story, please follow and/or favorite it if you haven't already! Constructive criticism is fine, but what's not fine is hating it just so you can hate something in the world.**

 **Don't forget, I have a poll open on my page asking who your least favorite troll in Homestuck is. I'm going to use it for this story, so please vote for it! The poll won't be closed for a long, long time (I'm planning on closing it in the middle of the Edolas arc, so I can get some planning ahead), but the choices will impact the story a lot.**

 **I did change some things between this story and the old version. Lucy's finally gotten a big clue about the whereabouts of Alternian Beforus, some dialogue has been deleted and moved to other places...and the last bit of Nepeta squealing about her ships is completely new. I decided that when I was writing this chapter, it would be a fun addition, so there it is.**

 **Next chapter, "The Pact", Team Natsu pays Alternian Beforus a visit! Lucy and the others have questions that may be difficult for Alternian Beforus to answer...and Lucy proposes something that will infuriate Karkat to the depths of hell.**


End file.
